


Ringing

by evilwriter37



Series: Whumptober 2020 [25]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Explosion, F/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilwriter37/pseuds/evilwriter37
Summary: Hiccup is caught in an explosion, and his ears won’t stop ringing.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: Whumptober 2020 [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947739
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	Ringing

Hiccup laid there in the debris of the explosion, staring up at the smoky sky. He couldn’t yet tell if he was hurt. He couldn’t hear a sound through the almost-painful ringing in his ears. 

Then his friends were running over to him. His gaze landed on them above him, and he could see their mouths moving, but he couldn’t hear them. Would the ringing go away? Would he ever be able to hear again?

Finally, he was able to read Astrid’s lips, probably because he knew those lips intimately. 

_ “Are you okay?” _

“I don’t know,” Hiccup answered, maybe too loud, maybe too quiet, but he wasn’t sure. It was difficult to control the voice when one couldn’t hear it.

Hiccup closed his eyes, feeling disoriented, his vision blurry. The explosion had been a big one, caused by the Dragon Flyers. They’d left afterwards, after they’d caused their bit of damage. Hiccup had been in his hut when it had happened, and the whole building had ruptured in fire. He was now outside said hut, and the building was in charred pieces. 

He felt a familiar nose press against his face. He looked to see Toothless - a blurry version of him, but still Toothless nonetheless. Hiccup tried smiling, but it turned into a grimace. His rush of adrenaline was wearing off, and he was beginning to feel pain. He looked down at himself, so smoldering clothing, burned flesh, blood. His friends were beginning to tend to him, getting cloths and blankets to press on him to stop the bleeding. Hiccup flinched and arched as they did this, but then there was a cool hand on his face. He gazed into Astrid’s eyes. His ears were ringing like never before. 

“I can’t hear,” he told them. “M-my ears are ringing.”

Their mouths moved. Fishlegs, then Snotlout. Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed to be chattering away in their own conversation. Gods, Hiccup wished he could hear what everyone was saying. Then, Astrid spoke, and Hiccup could understand her.

_ “That was a pretty big explosion.” _

“I’m just glad I got out of it okay,” Hiccup said, though he was in pain, had blurred vision, and couldn’t hear. 

Fishlegs gave him an “Are you kidding me?” look. His mouth moved again. Nothing. Ringing. Hiccup’s head hurt. 

“Water,” Hiccup requested. 

Ruffnut was rushing off, probably to fulfill his request. That was good. Hiccup figured water would help him. Water was soothing, healing. He closed his eyes again, reached a hand out to Toothless, pet him on the snout and between the ears. It helped distract him from the pain of having his bloody wounds pressed on. 

There was a nudge a few moments later, and Hiccup opened his eyes to see Ruffnut hovering over him with a flask. He sat up with her and Astrid’s help, took the flask, tried to down the water slowly. It was cool and lovely in his mouth and throat, dry from the explosion. 

Once he finished, he was made to lay down again. The ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t relent. It was getting awfully frustrating. 

_ “We should get you to Gothi,” _ Astrid said. She ran a hand through Hiccup’s hair.

“Don’t know if I can ride,” Hiccup told her. What with the pain in his body, the burns and the blood, riding seemed impossible. Toothless nuzzled against his face.

_ “Then we’ll bring Gothi to you.” _

Astrid turned her head, must have said something to Snotlout, because then he was leaving his position and running off. A moment later, Hiccup saw him and Hookfang take to the sky. So they were going to get Gothi while the others tended to him. 

Eventually, with lots of help and support from his friends and his dragon, they were able to get Hiccup into the clubhouse and build him a makeshift bed out of furs. It seemed like the best place for him now that his hut was destroyed. It was the hub of Dragon’s Edge. There would always be someone to look over him.

The ringing still hadn’t stopped. 

  
  


Hiccup lay in his makeshift bed, his wounds bandaged for the time, watching his friends talk. He couldn’t hear a thing they were saying. All he could hear was that awful, high-pitched ringing.

And it had been a day. They were still waiting for Snotlout and Gothi. Hiccup was worried, but was trying not to show it. How long would this ringing and deafness last?

His friends were probably worried too. Astrid was the only one Hiccup could really communicate with. He wouldn’t mind having some alternative form of language that was silent at the moment, something he could see rather than hear, like hand signals or something, like what they did with the dragons. 

He rolled onto his side, no longer watching his friends. Such a thing was painful, but he didn’t want to see them talking right now. It was hard when he couldn’t be included.

Toothless came over, wrapped himself around Hiccup’s body. Hiccup snuggled into him with a small smile. It seemed, everything would be okay.


End file.
